Madhulika Verma wife of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma, named the second of the three Project 15-A stealth destroyers on September 18.

Mazagon Docks Ltd in Mumbai built the 6500-ton ship, named INS Kochi.

The ship has advanced stealth features, which make it less vulnerable to detection by enemy radar and will be fitted with state-of-the-art weapon systems which include the supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface missile, the LRSAM Long Range Surface-to-Air Missiles and the MFStar multi-function radar system providing accurate data on surface and air targets.

In addition, four AK-630 rapid-fire guns and a medium range gun will boost the ship’s close-range defence capability.

The ships will also be fitted with indigenously developed twin-tube torpedo launchers and anti-submarine rocket launchers.

The NPOL developed Humsa-NG hull-mounted sonar, and two multi-role helicopters adding punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability. The maximum speed of the ship is above 30 Knots.

The destroyer will be launched using the pontoon-assisted launch technique, to be employed for the first time in the history of indigenous warship building.